Rockford was in (or on his way to/from) Brazil for work for seven days last week. I’ve tried not to get too specific about exactly where we live here at Butterscotch Sundae, but I do feel comfortable sharing this: We’re far, far from the southern hemisphere. It was definitely the longest he’d been away from us, and I think it was probably the farthest away he’s been.

It was a tough week, but there was something that made it infinitely easier on all of us: We were able to talk to him nearly every day, despite the fact that he was on another continent. Before he left, we both signed up for Skype accounts. You can buy credits to use Skype with a phone, but we used the free computer-to-computer calls. The sound is incredibly clear, with only the very occasional hiccup. There’s also a video function, so Rockford was able to see the kids while they chatted. (He doesn’t have a webcam, so we weren’t able to see him. We’ll be remedying that!)

I’d rather he didn’t have to travel at all, but I know that when Rockford’s out of town Skype works so very well to keep us connected.